


Parhelion

by Saraku



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Post-Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers, Pre-Patch 5.3: Reflections in Crystal, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:53:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26168197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saraku/pseuds/Saraku
Summary: From the scorches and torrents of the G tribe's home of Ilsabard to the stagnated weather in the First, G'raha Tia has survived in places where the world itself seems to be against them.And now, at the cusp of twilight, the Crystal Exarch is a witness in the first winter of Norvrandt.(My contribution to theDestiny Awaits: A Crystal Exarch Fanzine.)
Relationships: Lyna & G'raha Tia | Crystal Exarch
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	Parhelion

It was deceiving how calm the waves were in front of him. The lull of the ocean splashing on rock, the sea spray on his skin – it was soothing. He shut his eyes when leaves rustled loudly behind him, focusing on the blowing wind. It stung the cuts on his skin, much like the splash of water but he paid it no mind as he breathed the air.

“The children were wondering where you went.”

Raha opened his eyes as his father settled down beside him, facing the ocean. Raha let his gaze focus past the waters and onto the land across the horizon; a prairie had been decimated by snow and ice nonstop for a whole moon. It was unlikely to defrost on his lifetime.

The tribe had settled there once, six summers ago.

“Raha.”

His father’s voice grated against his ears as he shifted a leg up and wrapped his arms around it. A fire had ripped through the forest, rapidly decimating their home, far more dangerous than the usual chaotic nature of Ilsabard’s weather. He had been sent out with others to salvage anything from their old life when he encountered a pair of siblings, no more than eleven summers old, searching for their father.

Raha didn’t have the heart to tell them he found a corpse nearby, charred beyond recognition.

A hand pressed on his head and ruffled his hair, soot falling to the ground. “You lost the cloak,” his father said. “Are you alright? Breathing fine?”

Despite it all, Raha found himself smiling. “I’m not a child anymore.”

His father laughed, gritty and reassuring. Terrible at showing affection on a good day, it was occurrences like this that reminded Raha that despite it all, he cared. “You’ve yet to answer my question. This was a dangerous fire, even for us Ilsabardians.”

“’And dangerous weather meant dangerous aftereffects’,” he quoted back. “Had to abandon the cloak for mobility. I was worried that I wouldn’t reach them in time.” Another piece of life before the fire, taken.

A hand gently took his arm, hovering over the burns and scars. His father stood, watching the waves briefly before turning, offering a hand to him. “You did well.” Soothing, quiet. Calm.

Raha wasn’t used to the calm.

He gripped the hand, tight and warm, pulling himself up. His view changed from the deceptively calm ocean to the sight of smoke in the distance. He could imagine the same fate against their current camp by the coast, ashes from a flash fire to be swept away when the floods came. Homes to be torn apart when tornadoes descended.

“But what’s next?” He asked quietly. The wind carried his words away, tossing them into the sky far beyond his reach.

His father wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pressed Raha to his side, supporting him in the weight of the moment. “We brave the fall and face the storm.”

\---

In his younger years, swimming was one of G’raha favorite pastimes. He adored the thrill of diving into the unknown and found an even greater thrill to emerge and take a breath of fresh air after racing against time.

Every intake of breath in the First was a twisted mockery of it.

He excused himself, tugging nervously on his hood on as he stepped into the light. His chest felt tight and hollow, an icy sensation settling into the core of his being as he briskly moved to an open area, taking deep, shuddering breaths to not drown on land, hearing echoing in the blankness of his mind. His wrist burned, burying each of his senses under a wave.

With one heavier and shakier inhale he opened his eyes, blinking rapidly, unaware when he closed them as he pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead, chest heaving. He could make out whispers in the distance, murmurs on his health.

G’raha exhaled, low and quiet as he straightened, pressing a hand to a nearby tree to stabilize himself. He felt unbearably warm in the presence of the light. Raising a hand, he tried to imagine the wind blowing past his fingers before lowering it, resigned.

It was the factor that unnerved him the most when he first stepped into the world. He felt _nothing_ – no wind blowing, no warmth on his skin or chill in the air. The march of time had effectively come to a halt. And it was killing them.

“Ser?”

G’raha shut his eyes and took another deep breath, hoping to calm the roar in his mind before turning to respond. “Ah – Cyella,” he said, forcing a smile, hoping the exhaustion didn’t leak into it, “how are the newcomers?”

The elezen gave him a look over, lingering far too long his on shadowed face. “Suffering from the miasma, which was expected, but otherwise in good condition.”

G’raha inhaled. Exhaled. His tail swayed slowly. “That is good to hear.”

“But I worry about _you_ , ser.” Cyella’s gaze sharpened. There was a shadow lurking over her eyes, one he that matched his own. “Will you survive this? This entire time, you’ve… I fear every breath you take will be your last, in your condition.”

He often awoke with the feeling of ice and lava searing into his veins, where he watched in horror as piece by miniscule piece, the crystal on his arm dug into muscle and tore skin, lungs filled with a choked silence preventing him from taking his next breath, dying in silence in an unknown world. It almost made him homesick, with how he expected some sort of disaster each waking moment.

The tower had long been emptied of any residents in favour of creating their own shelter, their own measure of stability. He thought back to his childhood, of permafrost and hail of fire, uncertainty where they would move again and again to survive, that each day may be their last. How long it would take before another tragedy would strike the world and ruin what they built.

“I have far too much to do than to abandon the world to the river of fate,” he replied.

Pushing himself from the tree, G’raha resolved to stand under his own power. He shut his eyes and tried to imagine the wind against his hair, the sun against his skin. Cyella’s voice echoed in the distance, a memory on the horizon.

Taking a shuddered breath, he opened his eyes and walked away.

\---

He stepped into the Mean, ruffling his hood to clean off excess snow. The walls that had been set up for the winter performed its job well.

“My lord! We welcome your presence!” Katliss’ voice rang out from behind her counter, the other workers echoing her welcome. “You’re earlier than usual.”

The Exarch tried not to pout. “I was ushered out by the captain for, ah, important business.”

Katliss laughed, clapping her hands together. “Well, ‘tis good to see you out. From what I’ve been hearing, everyone’s mesmerized, a little surprised, but overall enjoying the season.”

The Exarch smiled. “That is good to hear. And how is the Mean adapting?”

“Quite well! Due to your diligence in preparations, we’re working as if nothing changed.” She leaned on her counter, thoughtful. “If I may be blunt, my lord,” Katliss said, “from how you described it, I expected winter to be more… tumultuous.”

He smiled, sheepish and nostalgic. “I did not know what the weather would be like after a century of the world being… stagnant.” He shook his head, looking upwards. The sun was hidden from view as snow drifted around them, catching on his hair and clothes. “I feared the worst.”

Katliss hummed, nodding in understanding. “If I may ask a personal question?”

He was intrigued. Though the hood had come down, his citizens upheld the unspoken rule on his past. “Of course.”

“Should you not be more…” She gestured to him. “You seem content with what you have on. Does the cold not bother you?”

Apart from the boots in exchange for his sandals, nothing had changed from his attire. He raised a hand, snow blowing through and melting where it contacted skin. The crystal scrawled around his body was remarkably cool.

“No,” he said quietly, earnestly. “I expected blizzards, storms – at my birthplace, it was stranger to experience tame weather such as so.” He ducked his head, thinking. “Every reason, ‘twould be remiss to become complacent as _something_ was bound to assault us. We adapted to the extreme weather, if only out of necessity.”

“And you worried the Crystarium would be besieged the same way.”

He remembered the way light covered the sky, long before the city was built. “Even before.”

Katliss laced her fingers together, elbows braced on the desk in thought. The Exarch watched his citizens play in the snow, trying to catch the flakes in their hands. One child made move to taste a steel pole before their parent stopped them.

“Perhaps a walk would you good, my lord.” Katliss was smiling when she stood beside him, looking at the children like him. “I believe it would be beneficial for everyone to see you out.”

He glanced upwards, the glint of the tower in his eye. “Perhaps I should.”

The Exarch parted ways with her, finishing his rounds as the sun dipped at the horizon and slipping into the tower. The last time his dear friend had visited, they had arrived from Ishgard and were eager to synthesize him weather-appropriate clothing. It was unlike anything his citizens had seen him in, affording him his sought-out privacy. He finished the ensemble by tugging the hood on, shadowing his face from snow and onlookers alike.

“Please be aware of – “ The guard stumbled over her words as the Exarch pressed a finger to his lips, smiling. “M’lord!?” She cleared her throat, lowering her voice as she bowed. “My lord Exarch. ‘tis good to see you. Are you headed out?”

“Yes. Worry not, I won’t be long.”

Concern flashed over her face, but the guard saluted. “Stay safe, m’lord. Do be wary of the ice.”

The road had been cleared of snow, though he had no doubts it would be covered again within hours. There was no destination – he only wished to get away. See the city experiencing natural weather and the cycle of life. Branches had collapsed from the strong winds, the lavender grass buried beneath a layer of frost.

He turned and tilted his head upwards, facing the tower. Even in the snow-filled wind, he could see the tower in the distance, a beacon of blue that could be seen from the farthest corners of Norvrandt.

His eyed slipped shut, inhaling the winter air. It was a burst of cold in his lungs, liberating and new.

Footsteps in the snow caught his hearing but he paid it no mind as he focused on the moment. The wind blew around him, coat billowing and the hood threatening to slip off. He tugged gently at it, puffs of breath disappearing into the wind as another breeze brushed past, snow flying into the air. The chill nipped at his skin, settling deep into the crystal of his arm.

A hand pressed itself to his and entwined their fingers together, warmth seeping through the glove. G’raha opened his eyes, gently squeezing Lyna’s hand as they observed the tower in the distance together.

The wind calmed, slowly. The winter had come to a pause.

“The Skywatcher’s stated that it will be calm, after today,” Lyna said, her voice clear.

For the first time in memory, Raha could hear clearly. Nothing could stop the genuine smile blossoming on his face. “’Calm’ is not something I’m used to, I’m afraid.”

The tower glimmered in the distance, resolute and permanent, refusing to be washed away in the chaos. As the sun dipped, Lyna’s grip tightened in his hand, supporting them both in the face of the storm as they returned home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please check out the zine [[here]](https://twitter.com/ExarchZine2020) and see the other contributor's works <3  
> An additional thank you to the organizers, fellow contributors, and those who bought the zine! The support was unbelievable and it's truly amazing to see. Without them, finishing this piece would have been far more a struggle.


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